Douglas Wolk offers a funny, incisive look at the art form of graphic novels

By ANDREA HOAG, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Updated 10:00 pm, Thursday, September 13, 2007

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Douglas Wolk

Douglas Wolk

Douglas Wolk offers a funny, incisive look at the art form of graphic novels

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Douglas Wolk has the best job in the world. After all, who could complain about getting paid to read comic books all day long?

Lucky for both the comics-obsessed and graphic-novel-uninitiated among us, the Portland author shares his thoughts on the work of authors ranging from Art Spiegelman to Alison Bechdel in his wise new book, "Reading Comics," (Da Capo Press, 405 pages, $22.95). Few journalists covering this burgeoning art form write with the witty flair Wolk possesses. This is an incredibly funny, ever-incisive look inside the art form of graphic novels, thought by many to be entering a golden age.

Still, when the author was reached by phone at his home last week, he humbly insisted that he "never wanted to be the definitive source of opinion" where comics criticism is concerned.

"There are a lot of people who are taking comics seriously," Wolk said. "The Comics Journal has been running for years and years, and there's actually a lot of really interesting comics criticism happening online now. There is a ton of criticism that I'm cut off from because it's not in English ... French comics criticism is quite well-developed, for example.

"(In 'Reading Comics'), I wanted to see if I could spark some opinion or juice up some conversations that are already happening ... one thing that's nice about being a critic is making people agree with you," he laughed.

"But I deliberately didn't pick a canon of comic books or the best things or the most meaningful things to me. Instead, I chose the things that were the most interesting to talk about right now. If you come up with a definitive canon, five minutes later there is going to be something horribly wrong with it."

Not that readers looking for some sort of a definitive list of the top comics of all time would be disappointed by this book, which offers up critiques of a wide range of works.

"I am much more interested in showing people how they might develop their own opinions about comics. I think one way critical discourse can improve the quality of art is not just laying down judgments, but starting conversations that both audiences and artists are interested in participating in.

"The work I had in mind when I was working on 'Reading Comics' was Pauline Kael's 'I Lost It at the Movies.' I love that book so much not because it is the definitive guide to going to and appreciating the movies, but instead because it's a book of essays and opinions about going to the movies.

"The ideal audience for this book is somebody who has read two or three things, maybe they've read 'Maus' or 'Fun Home' and want to know what else is out there. ...

"It's for people who have some questions and want to know more."

Despite his insistence to the contrary, Wolk has become something of an industry expert in his years writing about comics, the music industry, and now, even politics in a new online column for "The New Republic."

One fact he does, however, feel comfortable stating categorically is his belief that comics should not fall under the catchall rubric of literature. "I think (that this) is not really treating them as what they are, especially because it kind of writes drawing out of the picture. If you think about comics as being prose literature that happens to have pictures attached to it, then you are missing half the story. There is also this kind of sense that comics are a larval form of movies -- like every comic book wants to be a movie when it grows up -- and I think that this is missing the point, as well.

"Comics are getting written about in places that are dealing with them as a form of literature, and if that's the only place you can fit them in, great. ... But I don't think that is the ultimate destination."